The present invention relates to software-based tools for automatically assisting in complex problem solving, in particular though not exclusively in which the problem solving represents design or design planning processes. The problem solving, or design/design planning processes may relate to a wide variety of industrial sectors, such as the design of a building, an automobile or other complex structure.
There are a number of methods and associated software tools available which assist a user to design and plan a number of independent and interdependent tasks or operations necessary to complete a complex undertaking, such as the design of a building. These methods and software tools generally assist or facilitate the scheduling of all the design and construction activities required in order to complete the complex undertaking.
In one previously described technique, an analytical design planning process comprises the steps as indicated in FIG. 1. With reference to FIG. 1, the first step is to generate a model 10 of the design process, which defines the activities and their information requirements. Various modelling techniques are known in the art, and examples of these are discussed in “Analytical Design Planning Technique: a model of the detailed building design process”, S A Austin et al; Design Studies, Vol. 20, No. 3, April 1999, pp. 279-296.
From this model, a table 12 of activities is generated, listing the information requirements and dependencies of the individual activities, together with an indication of the classification of any such information dependencies. Next, a dependency structure matrix (DSM) analysis tool is linked to the model or table via a database or other file structure and identifies the optimal sequence of activities and iterations within the design process and displays them in a dependency structure matrix 14. Finally a programme or schedule of activities 16 is generated from the DSM. Further details of this analytical design planning technique are described in S A Austin et al: “Analytical design planning technique (ADePT): a dependency structure matrix tool to schedule the building design process”; Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 18, 2000, pp. 173-182; and S A Austin et al: “Analytical design planning for programming building design”; Proc. Instn. Civ. Engrs Structures & Buildings, Vol. 134, May 1999, pp. 111-118.